By: Logan Hughes, Keegan DeVitis, Sarah Kozhevnikov, Vincent Chau, Jack Guo
The American workplace is changing. In 2016, Millennials became the largest generation in the US workforce (Fry, 2018). It’s expected that in 2020, half of all US workers will be Millennials. With this generation – and Generation Z behind them – comes a significant change in values compared to previous generations. One major shift from previous generations to now is the prevalence of tattoos in the workplace. According to a 2010 study by the Pew Research Center, nearly 40% of Millennials have at least one tattoo. A later study of college students resulted in 43% reporting that they had at least one tattoo (Dickenson, 2015). Historically, society has stigmatized tattoos. However, as workers with tattoos become more common in the workplace, is the stigma surrounding tattoos changing as well? This blog aims to answer that question and examine the challenges that tattooed individuals might still face in the workplace.
Moving Away from Stigmas
Tattoos have been portrayed negatively for a very long time and have been viewed as having affiliations with gangs and criminals in the past, making it hard to be accepted in a professional setting. These stigmas need to change. If you are an employee in a business who has a lot of face to face interactions with customers, you are more likely to be asked to cover up your body art. This is because of the concern about whether a tattoo is offensive or off-putting, especially with employee-customer interactions. A 2009 study found that employees viewed potential coworkers with facial tattoos and piercings – perhaps the most extreme example – as being less suited for customer-facing positions (Miller, 2009). Additionally, they had a less favorable opinion of working alongside those tattooed individuals in positions where rewards were shared “interdependently” as opposed to “independently” (Miller, 2009). Our goal is to help shift the societal views on tattoos in the workplace to become more accepting. You could ask yourself, is it welcoming to see an employee that has a face tattoo or a neck tattoo? The answer is no. It is probably not the most appropriate or welcoming but that’s not the only place tattoos are seen. Employers still discriminate against employees with small tattoos that are seen on the wrist, arm and feet. These tattoos should not be discriminated against and are much more subtle and appropriate to be seen around the workplace. Small arm tattoos are much different than a face tattoo and we are trying to move away from the stigma that all employees with tattoos are less educated or “not as good” and we are trying to move towards tattoos seen on the arm, wrist or feet being more accepted in a professional setting.
Alternatives for Tattoos
People use tattoos to help them keep a precious memory, or to show their personality. It is totally acceptable and meaningful to have tattoos; however, there are alternatives. You might keep pictures, videos, or simply write your thoughts down on paper. These things may last longer, and you can also share these memories with people you want to. However, tattoos will be more and more acceptable in society in the future since it was pushed by the general trend of events. The hardest times in which people discriminated more openly against tattoos have passed already, while the population of people who have tattoos increased. It will become a common and normal thing in people’s life and community. However, we can’t be a Pollyanna who is excessively cheerful or optimistic. Tattoos still make changes and have an impact on you whether you know it or not. There are some careers that don’t allow tattoos at all. If those jobs are the jobs you are looking for, or something you want to do in the future, you should consider not getting a tattoo. You need to be serious and look before you leap because it is difficult to replace tattoos afterwards.
Effects on Potential Employment
To Millennials, the effect of having tattoos on potential employment can seem like common knowledge, but many young people continue to get tattoos despite knowing that their chances of getting hired while having body art are or can be low. In regard to employment, visible tattoos are seen as being unprofessional in some careers, such as in the healthcare industry (Flanagan, 2019). Millennials consider tattoos and any form of body art to be mainstream and normal among youth and they continue to express themselves through their body art. This explains why they continue getting tattoos based on the idea that it is a form of self-expression and contributes to why tattoos are more common today than ever. Millennials entering the workplace understand the impact that their tattoos may have on their potential careers. Many employers expect those with tattoos to cover up their ink at work. Of all the Millennials who have gotten a tattoo, 70% have them in places that are not visible and can be hidden by clothing (Foltz, 2014). In fact, most Millennials often consider the location of where they get a tattoo, so they won’t be discriminated against in future hiring. In a study conducted on Millennials and undergraduate students, the majority of those surveyed understood that tattoos had consequences regarding the workforce, yet most of those students had the perception that they would continue getting tattoos in the future. Foltz claims that undergraduate students understand that having a tattoo can impact their chances of getting hired yet they still consider getting tattooed.
Conclusion
The need for self-expression is dire to many Millennials, and tattoos have become an important outlet for doing so. However, it seems that American values aren’t shifting as quickly as the increasingly tattooed youth of our workforce might hope. Despite the stigma that still lingers today, as more and more people get tattoos in our generation, we’re hopeful that eventually tattoos in the workplace will be acceptable. As of now, concealing your tattoos is most likely the best alternative if your supervisors do take exception to an employee having body art.
Works Cited
Drazewski, P. (2013). Tattoo Stigma and Job Discrimination. Retrieved from https://ir.library.illinoisstate.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?referer=https://scholar.google.com/&httpsredir=1&article=1147&context=etd
Elzweig, B., & Peeples, D. K. (2011). Tattoos and Piercings: Issues of Body Modification and the Workplace. SAM Advanced Management Journal (07497075), 76(1), 13–23. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.library.wwu.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=bth&AN=61075761&site=ehost-live
Flanagan, J. L., & Lewis, V. J. (2019). Marked inside and out: an exploration of perceived stigma the tattooed in the workplace. Equality, Diversity and Inclusion: An International Journal, 38(1), 87–106. doi: 10.1108/edi-06-2018-0101
Foltz, K. A. (2014). The Millennial’s Perception of Tattoos: Self Expression or Business Faux Pas? College Student Journal, 48(4), 589–602. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=eric&AN=EJ1095414&site=ehost-live
Fry, R. (2018, April 11). Millennials are largest generation in the U.S. labor force. Retrieved from https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2018/04/11/millennials-largest-generation-us-labor-force/
Kamelian, A., & Ziment, M. (2019, February 8). Argument in the Office: Tattoos in the Workplace. Retrieved February 9, 2020, from http://dailynexus.com/2019-02-07/argument-in-the-office-tattoos-in-the-workplace/
Miller, B. K., Nicols, K. M., & Eure, J. (2009). Body art in the workplace: piercing the prejudice? Personnel Review, 38(6), 621–640. doi: 10.1108/00483480910992247
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